The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-08-17

carried out in his chair, and as he came tc
the door he spread his hand toward the or
chestra as in benediction.
Haydn was right when he waved his hand
toward Heaven and said: "It comes from
there"
Music was born in heaven and it will ever
have its highest throne in heaven; and want
you to understand that our departed friends
who were paSsionately fond Of music here, are
now at the headquarters Of harmony.
think that the grand old church tunes that
died when your grandfathers died have gone
with them to heaven.
Again, remark that those Of our departed
Christian friends who in this world had very
strong military spirit are now in armies Celes-
tial and out on bloodless battle. There are
hundreds of people born soldiers. They can
not help it, They belong to regiments in
time Of peace. They cannot hear drum or
fife without trying to keep step to the music.
They are Christians, and when they fight they
fight on the right side. Now when these, our
Christian friends who had natural and pow
erful military spirit, entered Heaven, they en-
tered the celestial army.
The door of Heaven hardly opens but you
hear military demonstration. David cried
out: 1.-The chariots of God are twenty thou
sand" Elisha saw the mountains filled with
celestial cavalry. st. John said: "The
armies which are in heaven followed him on
! white horses" Now, when those who had
the military spirit on earth sanctified entered
glory, suppose they right away enlisted
in some heavenly campaign, they
volunteered right away. There must
soldierly spirit. There are grand parade
days when the King reviews the troops.
There must be armed escort sent out to bring
up from earth to Heaven those who were
more than conluerors There must be
crusades ever being fitted out for some part
of Gods dominion-battles, bloodless, groan-
less, painless. Angels Of evil to be fought
down and fought back. Other rebellious
worlds to be conquered. Worlds to be put
to be demolished. Worlds to be sunk.
Worlds to be hoisted
| Beside that, in our own world there are bat
, ties for the right and against the wrong where
we must have the heavenly military. That
is what keeps us Christian reformers 50 buoy
ant. So few good men against so many bad
men, so few churches against so many grog-
| shops, so few pure printing presses against so
many polluted printing presses, and yet we
are buoyant and courageous, because while we
know that the armies Of evil in the world are
larger in number than the army of the truth,
there are celestial cohorts in the air fighting
on our side.
have not so much faith in the army on
! the ground as l have in the army in the air.
Y, God! open our eyes that we may see them
/ The military spirits that went up from earth
! to Join the military spirits before the throne
Joshua, and Caleb and Gideon, and David,
and Samson, and the hundreds Of Christian
warriors who on earth fought with feshly
arm. and now having gone up on high are
fight among the invisbles. Yonder they are
coming, coming. Did you not hear them
| as they swept bys
/ But what are our mathematical friends to
do in the next world! They found their joy
and their delight in Mathematics There was
more poetry for them In Euclid than in John
Milton. They were as passionately fond Of
mathematics as Plato, who wrote over his
door: "Let no one enter here who is not ac-
| quainted with geometry" What are they
| doing nowa They are busy with figures yet.
| No place in all the universe like Heaven for
| figures Numbers infinite, distances infinite,
| calculations infinite. The didatic DR.. Dick
said he really thought that the redeemed in
Heaven spent some Of their time with the
higher branches OF mathematics.
Some Of our transferred and transported
metaphy hysicians-whata are they doing nows
Studying the human mind, only under better
circumstances than they used to study it.
They used to study the mind sheathed in the
dull human body. Now the spirit unsheathed
now they are studying the sword outside
the scabbard Have you any doubt about
Heaven, or what Jonathan Edwards is do
ing in Heaven, or the multitudes on earth
who had passion for metaphysics sanctifed
.. by the grace Of God! No difficulty in guess
ing Metaphysics, glorious metaphysics, ever
lasting metaphysics.
What are our departed Christian friends
who are explorers doing now? Exploring
yet, but with lightning locomotion, with
vision microscopic and telescope 1.-THE same
time A continent at glance. A world in
second. A planetary system in day.
Christian John Franklin no more in disabled
"ErebuS" pushing toward the North Pole,
Christian De Long no pore Trying to free
blockaded "Jearnette' from the ice, Christian
Livingstone no more amid African malarias
trying to make revelation Of dark con-
tineDt; but all Of them in the twinkling of an
eye taking in that which was unapproachable
Mont Blanc scaled without alpenstock. The
coral depths Of the ocean explored without Q
diving bell. The mountains unbarred and
opened without Sir Humphrey Davy's safety
lamp.
What are our departed friends who found
their chief joy in study doing nowl Studying
yet, but instead Of 4 s#-ttRousand volumes
ca a few shelves all the voluneS -eff~thhe- nj
verse open before them-geologic, ornitholo-
gic, conchologic, botanic, aStronomlc, phllo-
sophie. No more need Of Leyden-jars, or
voltaic piles or electric batteries, standing
as they do face to face with the facts OF
the universe.
What are the historians doing now? Study
ing history yet, but not the history OF few
centuries Of our planet only, but the history
of the eternities-whole milleniumS before
Xenophon, or Herodotus, or Moses, or Adam
was born. History Of one world, history OF
all worlds.
What are our departed astronomers doing!
Studying astronomy yet, but not through the
dull lens Of earthly observatory, but with
one stroke Of wing going right out to Jupiter
and Mars and Mercury and Saturn and Orion
and the Pleiades-overtaking and passing
swiftest comet in their flight. Herschel died
a Christian. Have you any doubt about
what Herschel is doing9 Isaac Newton died
Christian Have you any doubt about
what Isaac Newton is doing! Joseph Henry
died Christian. Have you any doubt about
what Joseph Henry is doings They were IN
discussion, all these astronomers OF earth,
! about what the aurora borealis was, and
none Of them could guess. They know now;
they have been out there to see for them
selves.
What are our departed Christian chemists
doings Following out their own science,
| following out and following out forever.
Since they died they have solved ten thou
sand questions which once puzzled the earthly
laboratory. They stand on the other side OF
the thin wall Of electricity, the wall that
seems to divide the physical from the spiritual
world, the thin wall Of electricity, so thin the
wall that ever and anon it seems to be almost
broken through-broken through from our
! side by telephone and telegraphlc apparatus,
broken through from the other side oy
strange influences which men in their ignor-
ance call spiritualistic manifestations. All
that matter cleared. Agassiz standing
| ct down N Rra ZiI